Smart Home Subscriptions: Every Brand Compared (2026)
I got tired of looking up subscription prices across ten different websites. So here’s every smart home subscription in one place, updated for 2026, with real monthly and annual costs.
No fluff. Just numbers.
Ring Protect Plans
Ring won’t let you save video clips without a subscription. Live view is free, but that’s about it.
- Ring Protect Basic: $3.99/month ($39.99/year). Covers ONE camera. 180-day video history, clip sharing, snapshot capture.
- Ring Protect Plus: $10/month ($100/year). Covers ALL cameras at one address. Everything in Basic plus 24/7 professional monitoring for Ring Alarm, extended warranty, 10% off Ring.com purchases.
- Ring Protect Pro: $20/month ($200/year). Everything in Plus, adding 24/7 Assist (live agent support), eero network security, cellular backup for alarm, and digital security features.
Most families with 2+ cameras should get Plus. The math doesn’t work for Basic once you have more than two cameras. We break this down in detail in our Ring Protect analysis and our Ring doorbell plan guide.
Google Nest Aware Plans
Nest cameras record motion events for 3 hours free. Beyond that, you pay.
- Nest Aware: $6/month ($60/year). 30-day event history for all cameras, familiar face detection, activity zones.
- Nest Aware Plus: $12/month ($120/year). 60-day event history plus 10 days of 24/7 continuous recording.
Nest’s pricing is per-account, not per-camera. That’s actually fair. If you have 4 Nest cameras, $6/month total is cheap compared to Ring Basic at $3.99 per camera.
Arlo Secure Plans
Arlo’s pricing gets confusing. They have per-camera and all-camera tiers.
- Arlo Secure (single camera): $3/month ($30/year). One camera only. Activity zones, 30-day cloud history.
- Arlo Secure (multi-camera): $10/month ($100/year). Covers up to 5 cameras. Same features as single.
- Arlo Secure & Awareness: $18/month ($180/year). Covers up to 5 cameras. Priority alerts, package detection, 4K cloud recording, emergency response.
Arlo without a subscription gives you live view and 2-hour thumbnail history. Barely functional. For multi-camera setups, Arlo is pricier than Ring Plus. See our full camera comparison for how they stack up feature-for-feature.
SimpliSafe Plans
SimpliSafe’s hardware works without monitoring, but you lose the professional response and app features.
- Standard Monitoring: $19.99/month. Professional monitoring, cellular connection, fire/CO monitoring.
- Interactive: $22.99/month. Everything in Standard plus app control, camera recording, smart integrations.
- Fast Protect: $24.99/month. Everything in Interactive plus live guard (agent watches your cameras during alarms), priority dispatch.
No annual discount. No contract either, which is SimpliSafe’s selling point. Still, $300/year adds up fast. Full breakdown in our SimpliSafe pricing guide.
ADT Plans
The legacy player. Expensive but comprehensive.
- ADT Self Setup: $28/month. Professional monitoring, smart home control, app access.
- ADT Custom (Pro Install): $45-60/month. Professional installation, video verification, advanced automation.
- Contracts: 36 months typically. Early termination fees apply.
ADT is hard to recommend in 2026. You’re paying $336-720/year for monitoring that SimpliSafe and Ring do for less. The equipment subsidy model locks you into long contracts. Our best security system without monthly fees guide shows alternatives.
iRobot Select Plans
iRobot’s subscription is unusual. It’s a parts-and-replacement membership, not a feature unlock.
- iRobot Select: $15/month (basic models) to $30/month (premium models). Includes automatic parts shipments (brushes, filters, bags), a new robot every 3 years, accidental damage protection.
- Without subscription: Robot works identically. You just buy your own parts ($40-80/year on Amazon).
At $30/month ($360/year), Select is one of the worst values in smart home subscriptions. You’re paying $360/year for maybe $80 worth of parts. The replacement robot benefit only works if yours breaks, and Roborock or Dreame robots at the same price point last 4-5 years easily without any subscription. See our robot vacuum subscription comparison for the full math.
eero+ Subscription
Amazon’s mesh router add-on service.
- eero+: $10/month ($100/year). Ad blocking, advanced security scanning, VPN (powered by Encrypt.me), 1Password family plan included.
- Without subscription: Router works perfectly. You just lose the extras.
Honestly? The 1Password family plan alone costs $5/month, so eero+ at $10 isn’t terrible if you use both features. But the security and ad-blocking features are things a Pi-hole does for free.
Wyze Cam Plans
Wyze made their name on cheap hardware with affordable subscriptions.
- Wyze Cam Plus (per camera): $2/month ($15/year). Full-length event recording, person detection, package detection.
- Wyze Cam Plus (all cameras): $10/month ($99/year). Covers unlimited cameras.
- Wyze Cam Protect (per camera): $4/month. Cam Plus features plus friendly faces, professional monitoring for Wyze HMS.
- Without subscription: 12-second event clips with 5-minute cooldown. Very limited.
Wyze is cheap, but even $2/camera adds up. Four cameras at $2 each is $8/month, or just grab the $10/month unlimited plan. For a truly free alternative, Eufy and Reolink don’t charge anything.
Ecobee and Smart Thermostat Subscriptions
Good news: none exist. Every smart thermostat (Ecobee, Nest, Honeywell, Amazon, Sensi) works without any subscription. All scheduling, automation, energy reports, and remote control features are free forever.
Check our best smart thermostat guide for recommendations.
The Master Comparison Table
| Brand | Plan Tiers | Monthly Cost | Annual Cost | What You Get |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ring Protect | Basic / Plus / Pro | $3.99 / $10 / $20 | $40 / $100 / $200 | Video history, monitoring, warranties |
| Nest Aware | Standard / Plus | $6 / $12 | $60 / $120 | 30-60 day history, face detection |
| Arlo Secure | Single / Multi / Premium | $3 / $10 / $18 | $30 / $100 / $180 | Cloud storage, AI detection, emergency |
| SimpliSafe | Standard / Interactive / Fast Protect | $20 / $23 / $25 | $240 / $276 / $300 | Monitoring, app access, live guard |
| ADT | Self Setup / Custom | $28 / $45-60 | $336 / $540-720 | Pro monitoring, video verify |
| iRobot Select | Basic / Premium | $15 / $30 | $180 / $360 | Parts, replacement robot |
| eero+ | Single tier | $10 | $100 | Security, VPN, 1Password |
| Wyze | Per cam / Unlimited | $2 / $10 | $15-per / $99 | Full clips, AI detection |
What a Typical Family Actually Pays
Let’s say you have Ring cameras, a Ring alarm, a Roomba, and eero mesh. Here’s your monthly subscription load:
- Ring Protect Plus: $10/month
- iRobot Select: $30/month
- eero+: $10/month
- Total: $50/month ($600/year)
Over 5 years, that’s $3,000 in subscriptions alone. On top of whatever you paid for the hardware.
Swap to Eufy cameras (no sub), Roborock vacuum (no sub), skip eero+ (Pi-hole instead), and self-monitor your alarm. New total: $0/month. You just saved $3,000 over five years.
Which Subscriptions Are Actually Worth It
If I had to rank every subscription by value:
- Nest Aware at $6/month: Covers all cameras, reasonable price, good features. Best bang-for-buck if you must have cloud storage.
- Ring Protect Plus at $10/month: Unlimited cameras plus monitoring. Good value if you have 3+ Ring cameras and a Ring Alarm.
- Wyze Unlimited at $10/month: Cheap cloud storage if you’re committed to Wyze hardware.
- Everything else: Overpriced for what you get.
The worst value is iRobot Select at $30/month. It’s paying $360/year to avoid buying $60 in parts yourself. That’s a 500% markup on convenience.
FAQ
Which smart home subscription is cheapest for multiple cameras? Nest Aware at $6/month for all cameras. Ring Protect Plus at $10/month is second. Arlo charges $10 for multi-camera but only covers 5. Per-camera plans (Arlo at $3, Wyze at $2) add up fast with 3+ cameras.
Can I use Ring cameras without Ring Protect? Technically yes, but you only get live view. No video history, no clip saving, no motion review. For a security camera, that’s nearly useless. You’re essentially paying $150 for a live-view-only device without the subscription.
Is there any robot vacuum that requires a subscription to function? No. Every robot vacuum works fully without a subscription. iRobot Select is a parts/replacement membership, not a feature unlock. Your Roomba cleans exactly the same whether you subscribe or not.
What’s the cheapest way to have professional monitoring? Ring Protect Plus at $10/month includes basic monitoring with their Ring Alarm. SimpliSafe starts at $20/month. ADT starts at $28/month. Ring is the cheapest option that includes camera storage too.
How much would I spend subscribing to everything? A family with Ring Pro ($20), iRobot Select ($30), Nest Aware ($6), and eero+ ($10) pays $66/month or $792/year. That’s $3,960 over five years just in subscriptions. It’s almost always cheaper to choose subscription-free alternatives.